Data cluster management

ABSTRACT

A pull request from a managed cluster may be authorized by, for each managed cluster managed by the service provider, generating an encrypted pull secret for a managed cluster, assigning the generated encrypted pull secret to the managed cluster, and responsive to receiving a pull request from a managed cluster at the service provider. The pull request may have an accompanying encrypted pull secret. The pull request may also determine whether the pull request was initiated by an intended managed cluster by decrypting the encrypted pull secret assigned to the managed cluster using a decryption key. The authorizing the pull request based on whether the decrypted pull secret is assigned to an intended managed cluster.

BACKGROUND

The technical character of the present disclosure generally relates tothe field of data cluster management, and more particularly, managingpermissions for data clusters managed by a service provider.

When setting up a data plane cluster for a managed service, the serviceprovider needs to inject a docker pull secret into the data planeKubernetes cluster so that docker images can be pulled inside the dataplane cluster.

A data plane cluster is a managed cluster that is owned by the customersof the service provider, and not by the service provider itself. It is aconcern that if a user managed to get hold of the pull secret in themanaged cluster, they may be able to use it to pull other images and usethe pull secret in other clusters that they own.

This abusive usage of service provider owned pull secrets can causesecurity issues due to identity fraud and can also cause loss ofrevenue. There is therefore a need for managing the managed clusters,and in particular, the management of the pull secrets of the managedclusters.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure seeks to provide a method for authorizing a pullrequest from a managed cluster, which is managed by a service provider.Such methods may be computer-implemented. That is, such methods may beimplemented in a computer infrastructure having computer executable codetangibly embodied on a computer readable storage medium havingprogramming instructions configured to perform a proposed method. Thepresent disclosure further seeks to provide a computer program productincluding computer program code for implementing the proposed conceptswhen executed on a processor. The present disclosure yet further seeksto provide a system for authorizing a pull request from a managedcluster, which is managed by a service provider.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure there is provided amethod for authorizing a pull request from a managed cluster, which ismanaged by a service provider, the computer implemented methodcomprising: for each managed cluster managed by the service provider:generating an encrypted pull secret for a managed cluster; and assigningthe generated encrypted pull secret to the managed cluster; andresponsive to receiving a pull request from a managed cluster at theservice provider, the pull request having an accompanying encrypted pullsecret; determining whether the pull request was initiated by anintended managed cluster by decrypting the encrypted pull secretassigned to the managed cluster using a decryption key; and authorizingthe pull request based on whether the decrypted pull secret is assignedto an intended managed cluster.

Embodiments may be employed in combination with conventional/existingservice providers having one or more managed clusters belonging to usersof the service. In this way, embodiments may integrate into legacysystems so as to improve and/or extend their functionality andcapabilities. An improved data cluster management system may thereforebe provided by proposed embodiments.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, there isprovided a computer program product for authorizing a pull request froma managed cluster, which is managed by a service provider, the computerprogram product comprising a computer readable storage medium havingprogram instructions embodied therewith, the program instructionsexecutable by a processing unit to cause the processing unit to performa method comprising: for each managed cluster managed by the serviceprovider: generating an encrypted pull secret for a managed cluster; andassigning the generated encrypted pull secret to the managed cluster;and responsive to receiving a pull request from a managed cluster at theservice provider, the pull request having an accompanying encrypted pullsecret; determining whether the pull request was initiated by anintended managed cluster by decrypting the encrypted pull secretassigned to the managed cluster using a decryption key; and authorizingthe pull request based on whether the decrypted pull secret is assignedto an intended managed cluster.

According to yet another aspect, there is provided a processing systemcomprising at least one processor and the computer program productaccording to one or more embodiments, wherein the at least one processoris adapted to execute the computer program code of said computer programproduct.

According to another aspect, there is provided a system for authorizinga pull request from a managed cluster having an assigned encrypted pullsecret, wherein the managed cluster is managed by a service provider,the system comprising: a processor arrangement configured to perform thesteps of: receiving a pull request from a managed cluster, the pullrequest having an accompanying encrypted pull secret; determiningwhether the pull request was initiated by an intended managed cluster bydecrypting the encrypted pull secret assigned to the managed clusterusing a decryption key; and authorizing the pull request based onwhether the decrypted pull secret is assigned to an intended managedcluster.

Thus, there may be proposed concepts for authorizing which pull requestsfrom managed clusters may be fulfilled by the service provider, and thismay be done at a centralized data cluster management system. Providingsuch automated pull request authorization may help to reduce the timetaken, and the resources required, to identity a managed cluster that isauthorized to submit such a pull request, whilst also improving thesecurity of the pull request authorization process.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure is described in the detailed description whichfollows, in reference to the noted plurality of drawings by way ofnon-limiting examples of exemplary embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 1 depicts a cloud computing node according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 2 depicts a cloud computing environment according to embodiments ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 3 depicts abstraction model layers according to embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 4 depicts a cloud computing node according to another embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of an existing data cluster managementsystem 200 according to the prior art.

FIG. 6 illustrates a method of authorizing a pull request from a managedcluster according to an aspect of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates a method of authorizing a pull request from a managedcluster according to a further aspect of the disclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates a method of authorizing a pull request from a managedcluster according to a further aspect of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It should be understood that the Figures are merely schematic and arenot drawn to scale. It should also be understood that the same referencenumerals are used throughout the Figures to indicate the same or similarparts.

In the context of the present application, where embodiments of thepresent disclosure constitute a method, it should be understood thatsuch a method is a process for execution by a computer, i.e. is acomputer-implementable method. The various steps of the method thereforereflect various parts of a computer program, e.g. various parts of oneor more algorithms.

Also, in the context of the present application, a (processing) systemmay be a single device or a collection of distributed devices that areadapted to execute one or more embodiments of the methods of the presentdisclosure. For instance, a system may be a personal computer (PC), aserver or a collection of PCs and/or servers connected via a networksuch as a local area network, the Internet and so on to cooperativelyexecute at least one embodiment of the methods of the presentdisclosure.

Also, in the context of the present application, a system may be asingle device or a collection of distributed devices that are adapted toexecute one or more embodiments of the methods of the presentdisclosure. For instance, a system may be a personal computer (PC), aportable computing device (such as a tablet computer, laptop,smartphone, etc.), a set-top box, a server or a collection of PCs and/orservers connected via a network such as a local area network, theInternet and so on to cooperatively execute at least one embodiment ofthe methods of the present disclosure.

The technical character of the present disclosure generally relates todata cluster management, and more particularly, to data clustermanagement concepts that may, for example, manage the authorization of apull request received at a service provider from a managed cluster. Morespecifically, embodiments of the present disclosure provide concepts forauthorizing a pull request from a managed cluster, which is managed by aservice provider, the method comprising: for each managed clustermanaged by the service provider: generating an encrypted pull secret fora managed cluster; and assigning the generated encrypted pull secret tothe managed cluster; and responsive to receiving a pull request from amanaged cluster at the service provider, the pull request having anaccompanying encrypted pull secret; determining whether the pull requestwas initiated by an intended managed cluster by decrypting the encryptedpull secret assigned to the managed cluster using a decryption key; andauthorizing the pull request based on whether the decrypted pull secretis assigned to an intended managed cluster.

Thus, there may be provided, a concept of authorizing a pull requestfrom a managed cluster by introducing a means of verifying that the pullrequest was initiated by the original pull secret owner, i.e. theintended managed cluster, and has not been tampered with.

Put another way, the disclosure seeks to provide a means of fine-grainedcontrol of access to a registry that verifies that the pull request wasinitiated by the original pull secret owner and provides a decentralizedmodel for access control by the originator of the pull request.

In some embodiments, determining whether the pull request was initiatedby an intended managed cluster comprises retrieving a raw pull secretand a list of one or more approved IP addresses based on the decryptedpull secret. In some instances, a raw pull secret may not have all ofthe detail for a pull secret, and details, as described herein, may beadded to the raw pull secret to compete the pull secret. For example,the raw pull secret may be linked to a unique authorization token.

In an embodiment, determining whether the pull request was initiated byan intended managed cluster comprises extracting a service provideridentification tag from the pull request.

In an embodiment, determining whether the pull request was initiated byan intended managed cluster comprises extracting an authorization tokenfrom the pull request.

In an embodiment, the pull request is an image pull request.

In an embodiment, determining whether the pull request was initiated byan intended managed cluster comprises extracting, from the pull request,one or more of: an image name; and an image tag.

In an embodiment, the method further comprises: for each managed clustermanaged by the service provider: generating a unique authorization tokenfor the managed cluster; and linking the unique authorization token tothe pull secret of the managed cluster.

In an embodiment, the method further comprises: for each managed clustermanaged by the service provider: responsive to determining that theunique authorization token of a managed cluster has expired, generatinga new unique authorization token for the managed cluster; linking thenew unique authorization token to the pull secret of the managedcluster.

In an embodiment, the method further comprises: for each managed clustermanaged by the service provider: responsive to determining that aparameter of a managed cluster has changed, generating a new uniqueauthorization token for the managed cluster; linking the new uniqueauthorization token to the pull secret of the managed cluster.

In an embodiment, the parameter comprises one or more of: an IP address;and a scope of the managed cluster.

In addition, embodiments of the present disclosure provide concepts fora computer program product for authorizing a pull request from a managedcluster, which is managed by a service provider, the computer programproduct comprising a computer readable storage medium having programinstructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable bya processing unit to cause the processing unit to perform a methodcomprising: for each managed cluster managed by the service provider:generating an encrypted pull secret for a managed cluster; and assigningthe generated encrypted pull secret to the managed cluster; andresponsive to receiving a pull request from a managed cluster at theservice provider, the pull request having an accompanying encrypted pullsecret; determining whether the pull request was initiated by anintended managed cluster by decrypting the encrypted pull secretassigned to the managed cluster using a decryption key; and authorizingthe pull request based on whether the decrypted pull secret is assignedto an intended managed cluster.

In an embodiment, determining whether the pull request was initiated byan intended managed cluster comprises retrieving a raw pull secret and alist of one or more approved IP addresses based on the decrypted pullsecret.

In an embodiment, determining whether the pull request was initiated byan intended managed cluster comprises extracting a service provideridentification tag from the pull request.

In an embodiment, determining whether the pull request was initiated byan intended managed cluster comprises extracting an authorization tokenfrom the pull request.

In an embodiment, the pull request is an image pull request.

In an embodiment, determining whether the pull request was initiated byan intended managed cluster comprises extracting, from the pull request,one or more of: an image name; and an image tag.

In an embodiment, the method further comprises: for each managed clustermanaged by the service provider: generating a unique authorization tokenfor the managed cluster; and linking the unique authorization token tothe pull secret of the managed cluster.

In an embodiment, the method further comprises: for each managed clustermanaged by the service provider: responsive to determining that theunique authorization token of a managed cluster has expired, generatinga new unique authorization token for the managed cluster; linking thenew unique authorization token to the pull secret of the managedcluster.

In an embodiment, the method further comprises: for each managed clustermanaged by the service provider: responsive to determining that aparameter of a managed cluster has changed, generating a new uniqueauthorization token for the managed cluster; linking the new uniqueauthorization token to the pull secret of the managed cluster.

In an embodiment, the parameter comprises one or more of: an IP address;and a scope of the managed cluster.

In addition, embodiments of the present disclosure provide concepts fora processing system comprising at least one processor and the computerprogram product described above, wherein the at least one processor isadapted to execute the computer program code of said computer programproduct.

In addition, embodiments of the present disclosure provide concepts fora system for authorizing a pull request from a managed cluster having anassigned encrypted pull secret, wherein the managed cluster is managedby a service provider, the system comprising: a processor arrangementconfigured to perform the steps of: receiving a pull request from amanaged cluster, the pull request having an accompanying encrypted pullsecret; determining whether the pull request was initiated by anintended managed cluster by decrypting the encrypted pull secretassigned to the managed cluster using a decryption key; and authorizingthe pull request based on whether the decrypted pull secret is assignedto an intended managed cluster.

In an embodiment, determining whether the pull request was initiated byan intended managed cluster comprises retrieving a raw pull secret and alist of one or more approved IP addresses based on the decrypted pullsecret.

In an embodiment, the processor arrangement is further configured toperform the steps of: for each managed cluster managed by the serviceprovider: generating a unique authorization token for the managedcluster; and linking the unique authorization token to the pull secretof the managed cluster.

In an embodiment, the processor arrangement is further configured toperform the steps of: for each managed cluster managed by the serviceprovider: responsive to determining that the unique authorization tokenof a managed cluster has expired, generating a new unique authorizationtoken for the managed cluster; linking the new unique authorizationtoken to the pull secret of the managed cluster; or, for each managedcluster managed by the service provider: responsive to determining thata parameter of a managed cluster has changed, generating a new uniqueauthorization token for the managed cluster; linking the new uniqueauthorization token to the pull secret of the managed cluster.

It is to be understood that although this disclosure includes a detaileddescription on cloud computing, implementation of the techniques recitedherein are not limited to a cloud computing environment. Rather,embodiments of the present disclosure are capable of being implementedin conjunction with any other type of computing environment now known orlater developed.

Cloud computing is a model of service delivery for enabling convenient,on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computingresources (e.g. networks, network bandwidth, servers, processing,memory, storage, applications, virtual machines, and services) that canbe rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort orinteraction with a provider of the service. This cloud model may includeat least five characteristics, at least three service models, and atleast four deployment models.

Characteristics are as follows:

On-demand self-service: a cloud consumer can unilaterally provisioncomputing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, asneeded automatically without requiring human interaction with theservice's provider.

Broad network access: capabilities are available over a network andaccessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneousthin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs).

Resource pooling: the provider's computing resources are pooled to servemultiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physicaland virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according todemand. There is a sense of location independence in that the consumergenerally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of theprovided resources but may be able to specify the location at a higherlevel of abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter).

Rapid elasticity: capabilities can be rapidly and elasticallyprovisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out andrapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the capabilitiesavailable for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can bepurchased in any quantity at any time.

Measured service: cloud systems automatically control and optimizeresource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level ofabstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage,processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can bemonitored, controlled, and reported providing transparency for both theprovider and consumer of the utilized service.

Service Models are as follows:

Software as a Service (SaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto use the provider's applications running on a cloud infrastructure.The applications are accessible from various client devices through athin client interface such as a web browser (e.g., web-based e-mail).The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloudinfrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, storage,or even individual application capabilities, with the possible exceptionof limited user-specific application configuration settings.

Platform as a Service (PaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquiredapplications created using programming languages and tools supported bythe provider. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure including networks, servers, operating systems, orstorage, but has control over the deployed applications and possiblyapplication hosting environment configurations.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): the capability provided to theconsumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and otherfundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy andrun arbitrary software, which can include operating systems andapplications. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems, storage,deployed applications, and possibly limited control of select networkingcomponents (e.g., host firewalls).

Deployment Models are as follows:

Private cloud: the cloud infrastructure is operated solely for anorganization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party andmay exist on-premises or off-premises.

Community cloud: the cloud infrastructure is shared by severalorganizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns(e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and complianceconsiderations). It may be managed by the organizations or a third partyand may exist on-premises or off-premises.

Public cloud: the cloud infrastructure is made available to the generalpublic or a large industry group and is owned by an organization sellingcloud services.

Hybrid cloud: the cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or moreclouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities butare bound together by standardized or proprietary technology thatenables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting forload-balancing between clouds).

A cloud computing environment is service oriented with a focus onstatelessness, low coupling, modularity, and semantic interoperability.At the heart of cloud computing is an infrastructure comprising anetwork of interconnected nodes.

Referring now to FIG. 1 , a schematic of an example of a cloud computingnode is shown. Cloud computing node 10 is only one example of a suitablecloud computing node and is not intended to suggest any limitation as tothe scope of use or functionality of embodiments of the disclosuredescribed herein. Regardless, cloud computing node 10 is capable ofbeing implemented and/or performing any of the functionality set forthhereinabove.

In cloud computing node 10 there is a computer system/server 12, whichis operational with numerous other general purpose or special purposecomputing system environments or configurations. Examples of well-knowncomputing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may besuitable for use with computer system/server 12 include, but are notlimited to, personal computer systems, server computer systems, thinclients, thick clients, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessorsystems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmableconsumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputer systems, mainframecomputer systems, and distributed cloud computing environments thatinclude any of the above systems or devices, and the like.

Computer system/server 12 may be described in the general context ofcomputer system-executable instructions, such as program modules, beingexecuted by a computer system. Generally, program modules may includeroutines, programs, objects, components, logic, data structures, and soon that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract datatypes. Computer system/server 12 may be practiced in distributed cloudcomputing environments where tasks are performed by remote processingdevices that are linked through a communications network. In adistributed cloud computing environment, program modules may be locatedin both local and remote computer system storage media including memorystorage devices.

As shown in FIG. 1 , computer system/server 12 in cloud computing node10 is shown in the form of a general-purpose computing device. Thecomponents of computer system/server 12 may include, but are not limitedto, one or more processors or processing units 16, a system memory 28,and a bus 18 that couples various system components including systemmemory 28 to processor 16.

Bus 18 represents one or more of any of several types of bus structures,including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, anaccelerated graphics port, and a processor or local bus using any of avariety of bus architectures. By way of example, and not limitation,such architectures include Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus,Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, VideoElectronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, and PeripheralComponent Interconnects (PCI) bus.

Computer system/server 12 typically includes a variety of computersystem readable media. Such media may be any available media that isaccessible by computer system/server 12, and it includes both volatileand non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media.

System memory 28 can include computer system readable media in the formof volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM) 30 and/or cachememory 32. Computer system/server 12 may further include otherremovable/non-removable, volatile/non-volatile computer system storagemedia. By way of example only, storage system 34 can be provided forreading from and writing to a non-removable, non-volatile magnetic media(not shown and typically called a “hard drive”). Although not shown, amagnetic disk drive for reading from and writing to a removable,non-volatile magnetic disk (e.g., a “floppy disk”), and an optical diskdrive for reading from or writing to a removable, non-volatile opticaldisk such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or other optical media can be provided.In such instances, each can be connected to bus 18 by one or more datamedia interfaces. As will be further depicted and described below,memory 28 may include at least one program product having a set (e.g.,at least one) of program modules that are configured to carry out thefunctions of embodiments of the disclosure.

Program/utility 40, having a set (at least one) of program modules 42,may be stored in memory 28 by way of example, and not limitation, aswell as an operating system, one or more application programs, otherprogram modules, and program data. Each of the operating system, one ormore application programs, other program modules, and program data orsome combination thereof, may include an implementation of a networkingenvironment.

Program modules 42 generally carry out the functions and/ormethodologies of embodiments of the disclosure as described herein. Forexample, some or all of the functions of a DHCP client 80 can beimplemented as one or more of the program modules 42. Additionally, theDHCP client 80 may be implemented as separate dedicated processors or asingle or several processors to provide the functionality describedherein. In embodiments, the DHCP client 80 performs one or more of theprocesses described herein.

Computer system/server 12 may also communicate with one or more externaldevices 14 such as a keyboard, a pointing device, a display 24, etc.;one or more devices that enable a user to interact with computersystem/server 12; and/or any devices (e.g., network card, modem, etc.)that enable computer system/server 12 to communicate with one or moreother computing devices. Such communication can occur via I/O interfaces22. Still yet, computer system/server 12 can communicate with one ormore networks such as a local area network (LAN), a general wide areanetwork (WAN), and/or a public network (e.g., the Internet) via networkadapter 20. As depicted, network adapter 20 communicates with the othercomponents of computer system/server 12 via bus 18. It should beunderstood that although not shown, other hardware and/or softwarecomponents could be used in conjunction with computer system/server 12.Examples, include, but are not limited to: microcode, device drivers,redundant processing units, external disk drive arrays, RAID (redundantarray of inexpensive disks or redundant array of independent disks)systems, tape drives, and data archival storage systems, etc.

Referring now to FIG. 2 , an illustrative cloud computing environment 50is depicted. As shown, the cloud computing environment 50 comprises oneor more cloud computing nodes 10 with which local computing devices usedby cloud consumers, such as, for example, personal digital assistant(PDA) or cellular telephone 54A, desktop computer 54B, laptop computer54C, and/or automobile computer system 54N may communicate. Nodes 10 maycommunicate with one another. They may be grouped (not shown) physicallyor virtually, in one or more networks, such as Private, Community,Public, or Hybrid clouds as described hereinabove, or a combinationthereof. This allows cloud computing environment 50 to offerinfrastructure, platforms and/or software as services for which a cloudconsumer does not need to maintain resources on a local computingdevice. It is understood that the types of computing devices 54A-N shownin FIG. 2 are intended to be illustrative only and that computing nodes10 and cloud computing environment 50 can communicate with any type ofcomputerized device over any type of network and/or network addressableconnection (e.g., using a web browser).

Referring now to FIG. 3 , a set of functional abstraction layersprovided by cloud computing environment 50 (FIG. 2 ) is shown. It shouldbe understood in advance that the components, layers, and functionsshown in FIG. 3 are intended to be illustrative only and embodiments ofthe disclosure are not limited thereto. As depicted, the followinglayers and corresponding functions are provided:

Hardware and software layer 60 includes hardware and softwarecomponents. Examples of hardware components include mainframes 61; RISC(Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architecture based servers 62;servers 63; blade servers 64; storage device 65; and networks andnetworking components 66. In some embodiments, software componentsinclude network application server software 67 and database software 68.

Virtualization layer 70 provides an abstraction layer from which thefollowing examples of virtual entities may be provided: virtual servers71; virtual storage 72; virtual networks 73, including virtual privatenetworks; virtual applications and operating systems 74; and virtualclients 75.

In one example, management layer 80 may provide the functions describedbelow. Resource provisioning 81 provides dynamic procurement ofcomputing resources and other resources that are utilized to performtasks within the cloud computing environment. Metering and Pricing 82provide cost tracking as resources are utilized within the cloudcomputing environment, and billing or invoicing for consumption of theseresources. In one example, these resources may comprise applicationsoftware licenses. Security provides identity verification for cloudconsumers and tasks, as well as protection for data and other resources.User portal 83 provides access to the cloud computing environment forconsumers and system administrators. Service level management 84provides cloud computing resource allocation and management such thatrequired service levels are met. Service Level Agreement (SLA) planningand fulfillment 85 provide pre-arrangement for, and procurement of,cloud computing resources for which a future requirement is anticipatedin accordance with an SLA.

Workloads layer 90 provides examples of functionality for which thecloud computing environment may be utilized. Examples of workloads andfunctions which may be provided from this layer include: mapping andnavigation 91; software development and lifecycle management 92; virtualclassroom education delivery 93; data analytics processing 94;transaction processing and data cluster management processes 96described herein. In accordance with aspects of the disclosure, the datacluster management 96 workload/function operates to perform one or moreof the processes described herein.

FIG. 4 depicts a cloud computing node according to another embodiment ofthe present disclosure. In particular, FIG. 4 is another cloud computingnode which comprises a same cloud computing node 10 as FIG. 1 . In FIG.4 , the computer system/server 12 also comprises or communicates with adata cluster management client 170, and a data cluster management server160.

In accordance with aspects of the disclosure, the data clustermanagement client 170 can be implemented as one or more program code inprogram modules 42 stored in memory as separate or combined modules.Additionally, the data cluster management client 170 may be implementedas separate dedicated processors or a single or several processors toprovide the function of these tools. While executing the computerprogram code, the processing unit 16 can read and/or write data to/frommemory, storage system, and/or I/O interface 22. The program codeexecutes the processes of the disclosure.

By way of example, data cluster management client 170 may be configuredto communicate with the data cluster management server 160 via a cloudcomputing environment 50. As discussed with reference to FIG. 2 , forexample, cloud computing environment 50 may be the Internet, a localarea network, a wide area network, and/or a wireless network. Inembodiments of the proposed data cluster management mechanism, the datacluster management server 160 may provision data to the client 170. Oneof ordinary skill in the art would understand that the data clustermanagement client 170 and data cluster management server 160 maycommunicate directly. Alternatively, a relay agent may be used as anintermediary to relay messages between data cluster management client170 and data cluster management server 160 via the cloud computingenvironment 50.

The present disclosure may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include a computerreadable storage medium (or media) having computer readable programinstructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of thepresent disclosure.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present disclosure may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present disclosure.

Aspects of the present disclosure are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of thedisclosure. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of an existing data cluster managementsystem 200 according to the prior art. In the examples described herein,the data cluster management system has been described in the context ofpulling images from an image registry managed by a service provider.However, it should be noted that the concepts described herein may beapplied to the context of pulling any type of data or resource from aregistry managed by a service provider.

The data cluster management system 200 shown in FIG. 5 comprises aservice provider 210, an image registry 220 managed by the serviceprovider and one or more managed clusters 230. The service provider isresponsible for providing images to the image registry, which may thenbe pulled by a managed cluster 230 having the image registry pull secret240.

In the example shown in FIG. 5 , the deployment 250 of the imageregistry pull secret 240 is unrestricted, meaning that the pull secretmay be used 260 to access the image registry 330 and pull any of images1, 2, 3, . . . , X stored on the image registry, even if the serviceprovider had not intended to allow the given managed cluster to accessall of the images on the image registry.

Put another way, existing data cluster management systems provide nofine grain control over what aspects of a registry a managed cluster canaccess and pull once the cluster possesses the pull secret for theregistry.

FIGS. 6 to 8 illustrate proposed methods of authorizing a pull requestfrom a managed cluster according to an aspect of the disclosure. In theexamples shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 , the access of the illustrated managedcluster.

FIG. 6 shows a data cluster management system 300 that comprises aservice provider 310, an image registry 320 managed by the serviceprovider, and one or more managed clusters 330. The service provider isresponsible for providing images to the image registry, which may thenbe pulled by an authorized managed cluster 330. These components can beimplemented as part of a docker registry, or as a gateway registry whichcontrols the traffic into the docker registry.

In the example shown in FIG. 6 , the service provider 310 comprises atoken generator component 340 and a token refresh component 350. Foreach managed cluster managed by the service provider, the serviceprovider may be adapted to generate an encrypted authorization token 365pull secret 360 for a managed cluster and the service provider may thenassign the generated encrypted pull secret to the managed cluster.Further, the token generator component may be adapted to, for eachmanaged cluster managed by the service provider, generate a uniqueauthorization token for the managed cluster to be linked with the uniqueauthorization token to the pull secret of the managed cluster. Thefunction of the token refresh component is described in further detailbelow.

In other words, the token generator may be adapted to generate a uniqueauthorization token for each data plane cluster, or managed cluster, aservice provider manages. The generated authorization token may then belinked to access control information, for example to restrict the imagesthat can be pulled using this authorization token and the expiry of theauthorization token.

The service provider 310 may store the master pull secret in anadditional gateway authorization layer, referred to herein as a gatewayregistry 370, built into the image registry host to function as a PRauthorization check component. A pull secret that allows access to thegateway registry is then given back to the service provider.

When a new managed cluster, such as managed cluster 330, is onboarded,an authorization token 365 pull secret 360 will be generated andassociated with authorization information and a short-lived expiry,which may be extended further by the service provider. Each managedcluster may be provided with an authorization token that allows fordifferential access for different users of the registry in combinationwith the pull secret.

The service provider 310 may then push the gateway registry 370 layerauthorization token 365 pull secret 360, which may contain a serviceprovider identification tag, to a managed cluster 330 owned by a user.When an encrypted pull request 380, such as an image pull request, isreceived by the gateway registry 370, the gateway registry may decryptthe encrypted pull secret using a decryption key in order to determinewhether the pull request was initiated by an intended managed cluster.In the example shown in FIG. 6 , the deployment 390A of the pull requestto the gateway registry is directed to a request to pull image 1 fromthe image registry 320.

Upon the decryption of the encrypted pull secret, the gateway registrymay parse out one or more of: an authorization token; a service provideridentification tag; an image name; and an image tag from the pullrequest. In addition, the gateway registry may retrieve a raw pullsecret and a list of one or more approved/permitted IP addresses tocompare to the IP address of the managed cluster that submitted the pullrequest. The gateway registry may then check with the service provider310 to ensure the image the pull request is pulling, which is image 1 inthe example shown in FIG. 6 , is authorized by the service provider,before proceeding as with a normal transaction. In the example of FIG. 6, the gateway registry approves the request because the cluster IPaddress is in the list of permitted IPs within the pull secret.

The pull request 380 may then be authorized based on whether thedecrypted pull secret, and in particular the information parsed from thepull request, is assigned to an intended managed cluster 330 known tothe service provider 310.

FIG. 7 shows the data cluster management system of FIG. 6 when theservice provider 310 scales the cluster and reissues a pull secret thatcontains the added/removed updated IP addresses.

When new access permissions are required by the managed cluster 330, forexample for adding new IP addresses that were not included in theinitial pull secret or authorization token provided to the managedcluster, a new authorization token will need to be issued to the managedcluster. This action may be performed by the token refresh component350. The token refresh component may be used to issue new authorizationtokens to the data plane clusters it manages, for example when a userpurchases a new plan from the service provider which enables/removesfunctionalities.

Accordingly, responsive to determining that the unique authorizationtoken of a managed cluster 330 has expired or needs updating, a newunique authorization token may be generated for the managed cluster andlinked to the pull secret of the managed cluster. Further, responsive todetermining that a parameter, such as an IP address a scope of themanaged cluster has changed, a new unique authorization token may alsobe generated for the managed cluster and linked to the pull secret ofthe managed cluster.

As can be seen from the example shown in FIG. 7 , when the managedcluster 330 deploys 390A the updated (i.e. re-issued) pull secret andauthorization token to pull image 3 from the image registry, the gatewayregistry authorizes the pull request.

In the examples described with respect to FIGS. 6 and 7 , the managedcluster 330 has been provided with a pull secret and authorization tokencombination to permit the managed cluster to pull image 1 or image 1 and3, respectively. FIG. 8 illustrates an example of when an unmanagedcluster submits a pull request for image 2, which is not included in theauthorization token 360. When the pull request 280 for image 2 isdeployed 390B, the gateway registry decrypts the pull request and parsesout the information as described above. In the example shown in FIG. 8 ,the parsed information would reveal that the managed cluster does nothave permission to pull image 2 form the image registry. For instance,FIG. 8 shows an example where there is an unauthorized copy to anunmanaged cluster.

Accordingly, the gateway registry 370 rejects the pull request 380 forimage 2 from the managed cluster, because the cluster IP address(“1.10.11.1”) is not included in the permitted IPs list in the pullsecret.

In contrast to existing data cluster management systems, the methods andsystems of the disclosure provide a managed service in which a serviceprovider no longer needs to constantly enable or disable new and oldmanaged clusters or manage and update an access right list in a centralregistry.

The examples described above illustrate a data cluster management systemthat does not require the image registry to read or store client nodeinformation as the information required for access check is embedded inthe encrypted pull request.

It should now be understood by those of skill in the art, in embodimentsof the present disclosure, the proposed concepts provide numerousadvantages over conventional data cluster management approaches. Theseadvantages include, but are not limited to, efficient and accurateapproval of a pull request received from a managed cluster at a serviceprovider.

In still further advantages to a technical problem, the systems andprocesses described herein provide a computer-implemented method forefficient data cluster management on a distributed communicationnetwork. In this case, a computer infrastructure, such as the computersystem shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 or the cloud environment shown in FIG. 2can be provided and one or more systems for performing the processes ofthe disclosure can be obtained (e.g., created, purchased, used,modified, etc.) and deployed to the computer infrastructure. To thisextent, the deployment of a system can comprise one or more of:

-   -   (i) installing program code on a computing device, such as        computer system shown in FIG. 1, from a computer-readable        medium;    -   (ii) adding one or more computing devices to the computer        infrastructure and more specifically the cloud environment; and    -   (iii) incorporating and/or modifying one or more existing        systems of the computer infrastructure to enable the computer        infrastructure to perform the processes of the disclosure.

The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present disclosurehave been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intendedto be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the describedembodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain theprinciples of the embodiments, the practical application or technicalimprovement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodimentsdisclosed herein.

1. A computer implemented method for authorizing a pull request from a managed cluster, which is managed by a service provider, the computer implemented method comprising: for each managed cluster managed by the service provider: generating an encrypted pull secret for a managed cluster; and assigning the generated encrypted pull secret to the managed cluster; and determining, responsive to receiving a pull request from a managed cluster at the service provider where the pull request has an accompanying encrypted pull secret, whether the pull request was initiated by an intended managed cluster by decrypting the encrypted pull secret assigned to the managed cluster using a decryption key; and authorizing the pull request based on whether the decrypted pull secret is assigned to an intended managed cluster.
 2. The computer implemented method as claimed in claim 1, wherein determining whether the pull request was initiated by an intended managed cluster comprises retrieving a raw pull secret and a list of one or more approved IP addresses based on the decrypted pull secret.
 3. The computer implemented method as claimed in claim 1, wherein determining whether the pull request was initiated by an intended managed cluster comprises extracting a service provider identification tag from the pull request.
 4. The computer implemented method as claimed in claim 1, wherein determining whether the pull request was initiated by an intended managed cluster comprises extracting an authorization token from the pull request.
 5. The computer implemented method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pull request is an image pull request.
 6. The computer implemented method as claimed in claim 5, wherein determining whether the pull request was initiated by an intended managed cluster comprises extracting, from the pull request, information selected from the group consisting of: an image name; and an image tag.
 7. The computer implemented method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the method further comprises: for each managed cluster managed by the service provider: generating a unique authorization token for the managed cluster; and linking the unique authorization token to the pull secret of the managed cluster.
 8. The computer implemented method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the method further comprises: for each managed cluster managed by the service provider: responsive to determining that the unique authorization token of a managed cluster has expired, generating a new unique authorization token for the managed cluster; and linking the new unique authorization token to the pull secret of the managed cluster.
 9. The computer implemented method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the method further comprises: for each managed cluster managed by the service provider: responsive to determining that a parameter of a managed cluster has changed, generating a new unique authorization token for the managed cluster; and linking the new unique authorization token to the pull secret of the managed cluster.
 10. The computer implemented method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the parameter is selected from the group consisting of: an IP address; and a scope of the managed cluster.
 11. A computer program product for authorizing a pull request from a managed cluster, which is managed by a service provider, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by a processing unit to cause the processing unit to perform a method comprising: for each managed cluster managed by the service provider: generating an encrypted pull secret for a managed cluster; and assigning the generated encrypted pull secret to the managed cluster; and determining, responsive to receiving a pull request from a managed cluster at the service provider, the pull request having an accompanying encrypted pull secret, whether the pull request was initiated by an intended managed cluster by decrypting the encrypted pull secret assigned to the managed cluster using a decryption key; and authorizing the pull request based on whether the decrypted pull secret is assigned to an intended managed cluster.
 12. The computer program product as claimed in claim 11, wherein determining whether the pull request was initiated by an intended managed cluster comprises retrieving a raw pull secret and a list of one or more approved IP addresses based on the decrypted pull secret.
 13. The computer program product as claimed in claim 11, wherein the method further comprises: for each managed cluster managed by the service provider: generating a unique authorization token for the managed cluster; and linking the unique authorization token to the pull secret of the managed cluster.
 14. The computer program product as claimed in claim 13, wherein the method further comprises: for each managed cluster managed by the service provider: responsive to determining that the unique authorization token of a managed cluster has expired, generating a new unique authorization token for the managed cluster; and linking the new unique authorization token to the pull secret of the managed cluster.
 15. The computer program product as claimed in claim 13, wherein the method further comprises: for each managed cluster managed by the service provider: responsive to determining that a parameter of a managed cluster has changed, generating a new unique authorization token for the managed cluster; and linking the new unique authorization token to the pull secret of the managed cluster.
 16. The computer program product as claimed in claim 15, wherein the parameter is selected from a list consisting of: an IP address; and a scope of the managed cluster.
 17. A system for authorizing a pull request from a managed cluster having an assigned encrypted pull secret, wherein the managed cluster is managed by a service provider, the system comprising: a processor arrangement configured to perform the steps of: receiving a pull request from a managed cluster, the pull request having an accompanying encrypted pull secret; determining whether the pull request was initiated by an intended managed cluster by decrypting the encrypted pull secret assigned to the managed cluster using a decryption key; and authorizing the pull request based on whether the decrypted pull secret is assigned to an intended managed cluster.
 18. The system as claimed in claim 17, wherein determining whether the pull request was initiated by an intended managed cluster comprises retrieving a raw pull secret and a list of one or more approved IP addresses based on the decrypted pull secret.
 19. The system as claimed in claim 17, wherein the processor arrangement is further configured to perform the steps of: for each managed cluster managed by the service provider: generating a unique authorization token for the managed cluster; and linking the unique authorization token to the pull secret of the managed cluster.
 20. The system as claimed in claim 17, wherein the processor arrangement is further configured to perform the steps of: for each managed cluster managed by the service provider: responsive to determining that the unique authorization token of a managed cluster has expired, generating a new unique authorization token for the managed cluster; linking the new unique authorization token to the pull secret of the managed cluster; and, for each managed cluster managed by the service provider: responsive to determining that a parameter of a managed cluster has changed, generating a new unique authorization token for the managed cluster; and linking the new unique authorization token to the pull secret of the managed cluster. 